Complex looking logo with silhouette? Check.

One major theme that tends to come up when talking to gamers is the question of "Why don't they make games like they used to?". It's not really a bad thing, but it's mostly attributed to the nostalgia of the games they played growing up. I'm sure some day someone will look back and ask why they don't make shooters like Halo anymore. So what does this have to do with anything? Well, Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled, is a throwback to the 16-bit era of RPGs. The aesthetic definitely gives off a feeling of Squaresoft's later SNES games such as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger and the similarities don't stop there.


Bel Lenora has a loose definition of 'wolf'...

In the 16-bit tradition, battles all take place on a battle screen away from the main maps. Characters wait to act using the classic ATB system and then select their actions from a cross menu. As in Chrono Trigger, characters who fight together will learn combination skills that can be used when both characters are at the ready and have enough SP. One new addition to the battle system is that positioning is important. When you order Kairu to attack with his sword, he will only be able to target enemies that he can actually get to. If he is too far away, he will move as far as he can, then need to pause to 'recharge' for a short moment before continuing his move. Of course, this works the same for enemies. Holding L allows you to move a character to a new position while giving up their current turn. Since the battlefields occasionally include obstacles and different paths, it's entirely possible to have a character stand in the way and take the physical hits for casters in the rear.

Anyway, enough on the mechanics. On to the review.

The Good

As stated before, there's a huge wave of nostalgia that comes from seeing the sprites and menus when you start the game up. It looks like it could fit in on the SNES 14 years ago, and that's exactly what the developers were going for. The story is competent, about a boy, Kairu, who is born without Magic in a world where the last person to be born under such conditions ended up trying to destroy the world. He ends up sealed away in a cave by his adoptive father who has no choice but to give in to the paranoid will of the people. When exploring the cave, Kairu finds himself transported to a strange new world and his adventure begins in earnest.
The battle system has some nice touches, with the positioning aspect bringing a slight bit of freshness to the old ATB system. The characters, although somewhat cliche, are fairly likable, and all seem to have distinct personalities through their writing, which has had few typos so far. The dual screen setup is used to decent effect, with a world map and quick overview of party status taking up the top screen while outside, and a list of battle members with status effect display taking its place during combat.


....and again... and again... and again...

The Bad
For a game that is trying to evoke the feelings of classic Squaresoft RPGs, it seems to be lacking substantially in the music department. Black Sigil was originally developed on the GBA before being moved to the DS, and some of the sound quality still shows. The graphics match, but the composer is no Uematsu or Mitsuda. The battle theme in particular seems strangely slow, opting for a military-style drumbeat and strings that don't really give a sense of urgency to combat. The battle theme for FFVI and CT were both very upbeat, so it seems strange that a game trying to emulate them would go off in such a different direction. The music isn't completely bad, but it's simply passable. Nothing that will have you humming in the near future.

Another major complaint is that the encounter rate is simply brutal. Walking from one town to the other on the overworld is a long string of battles that will take a serious toll on your HP. One minor complaint is that there doesn't seem to be any battle transition. The screen simply fades out and fades back in on the battle screen. No fuzzy screen, swishy spiral, or silly "vrrrrt vrrrrt" noise to warn you that battle is coming. It shouldn't seem like much of an issue, but when you're used to something like that being there, it's jarring when it's not.

The TL;DR
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled is an attempt at a classic SNES RPG in 2009. The aesthetic is matched almost perfectly, but the music leaves one wanting. The Chrono Trigger ATB v2.0 system makes an appearance here, modified to be more dependent on character positioning. The story is decent, though cliche, and the encounter rate is brutal. Little touches like a battle transition are missing, and the use of dual screens is passable.

Black Sigil is a bit hard to find, as it doesn't seem to be stocked in any stores physically, but it can be easily ordered off of Gamestop.com or Amazon. Published by Graffiti entertainment, it retails for $29.99.